"MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. --Headquarters Air Force Junior ROTC here has launched a pilot program aimed at potentially putting more pilots in the cockpits of military aircraft to help address the Air Force’s ongoing aircrew shortage.

Beginning in the summer of 2018, select AFJROTC cadets who applied for a new Fight Academy scholarship will attend an accredited aviation program at one of six partnering universities to get a private pilot license.

The competitive application process started in fall 2017. The names of the initial 120 scholarship recipients from the more than 800 who applied will be released in early 2018.

“The number of applicants and the demographics of the applicant pool have turned out to be beyond any we could have hoped for. It is exciting to know we can concurrently answer the number and demographic issues of the aircrew crisis,” said Todd Taylor, AFJROTC Region 1 director and acting director for the Flight Academy Program.

AFJROTC’s Flight Academy supports the Air Force Aircrew Crisis Task Force. The task force was tasked by the Air Force chief of staff to come up with new and innovative ways to address the service’s shortage of experienced aircrews. The ACTF is tackling the problem along seven lines of effort: requirements, accessions, production, absorption, retention, sortie production and industry collaboration.

The AFJROTC Flight Academy scholarship program is an initiative born of a joint military-industry working group within the industry collaboration line of effort that is responsible for “increasing intake.” The working group is charged with leveraging Civil Air Patrol, AFJROTC and general civil aviation to bring back the “luster of aviation” to high school students and to increase diversity in aviation fields.

“The Flight Academy initiative accomplishes two important tasks simultaneously: it helps ‘get the word out’ regarding the opportunities in the aviation community and it addresses the issue of diversity throughout the aviation community,” said Scotty Lewis, deputy director of AFJROTC and the military lead for the Increasing Intake Working Group.

Of AFJROTC’s approximately 120,000 cadets, 58 percent are minority and 40 percent are female. Flight Academy scholarship applications mirror the demographic: 55 percent of those applying for the 2018 scholarships are female or minority cadets.

The 120 AFJROTC cadets selected for the summer’s Flight Academy and the 250 planned for 2019 are but a drop in the large commercial and military pilot shortage bucket. Civilian airline industry experts project a demand for 117,000 new commercial pilots over the next 20 years. The Air Force is currently short of at least 1,500 pilots to fulfill its requirements.

To help fill those voids down the road, AFJROTC leaders’ end goal is to offer scholarships to 1 percent of its cadet corps, or 1,200 cadets, a year.

Leaders up and down the military chain are aware that many of the cadets who do earn their private pilot license through Flight Academy probably won’t have a career in military aviation in their sights, opting for the civilian airline industry instead. The cadets will not incur a military commitment after getting their private pilot license through Flight Academy, nor does getting the license guarantee acceptance into one of the Air Force’s officer accessioning programs.

“We understand not all of the cadets graduating from the Flight Academy will elect to take a military track, but that’s okay as those young people electing to enter commercial aviation will have a positive impact on the overall national crisis,” said Brig. Gen. Michael Koscheski, director of the Air Force Aircrew Crisis Task Force."

Will AFJROTC have a 'one up' on recruiting high schoolers interested in being a pilot?

They already do, if for no other reason then they are "there" and CAP generally "isn't".

Two different organizations with very different missions and goals, but I thought it was somewhat amusing that the article says CAP will be "leveraged".

I've felt "leveraged" by CAP a few times in my career, but never in this context. Absent offering similarfree flight training scholarships (which would be a great, expensive way to fill the ranks) I don't know howthe USAF is going to "leverage" CAP cadets to making flying exciting again.

... I don't know how the USAF is going to "leverage" CAP cadets to making flying exciting again.

By publicizing the AFJROTC programs benefits in CAP communications to make sure our 13 and 14 year old Cadets know about it and can switch to AFJROTC when they hit high school. Hoping to then entice them into ROTC in college.

... I don't know how the USAF is going to "leverage" CAP cadets to making flying exciting again.

By publicizing the AFJROTC programs benefits in CAP communications to make sure our 13 and 14 year old Cadets know about it and can switch to AFJROTC when they hit high school. Hoping to then entice them into ROTC in college.

... I don't know how the USAF is going to "leverage" CAP cadets to making flying exciting again.

By publicizing the AFJROTC programs benefits in CAP communications to make sure our 13 and 14 year old Cadets know about it and can switch to AFJROTC when they hit high school. Hoping to then entice them into ROTC in college.

Or they go the dual enrolled route.

But what about cadets who live in an area with no JROTC? I know I wanted to join JROTC as well as CAP, but neither of the two schools I have been to have JROTC.

... I don't know how the USAF is going to "leverage" CAP cadets to making flying exciting again.

By publicizing the AFJROTC programs benefits in CAP communications to make sure our 13 and 14 year old Cadets know about it and can switch to AFJROTC when they hit high school. Hoping to then entice them into ROTC in college.

Or they go the dual enrolled route.

But what about cadets who live in an area with no JROTC? I know I wanted to join JROTC as well as CAP, but neither of the two schools I have been to have JROTC.

USAF Drops $2.4 Million in Scholarships To Get Cadets Private Pilot Licenses

Recipients of the newly launched AFJROTC Flight Academy scholarship will take classes this summer, each course lasting between seven and nine weeks, according to the Air Force. If all goes according to plan, cadets will return with private pilot licenses.

From zero to PPL in 7-9 weeks. Thats intense and you can bet they will only take the cream of the crop.

USAF Drops $2.4 Million in Scholarships To Get Cadets Private Pilot Licenses

Recipients of the newly launched AFJROTC Flight Academy scholarship will take classes this summer, each course lasting between seven and nine weeks, according to the Air Force. If all goes according to plan, cadets will return with private pilot licenses.

From zero to PPL in 7-9 weeks. Thats intense and you can bet they will only take the cream of the crop.

In the 60’s and 70’s, CAP ran “Cadet Flying Encampments.” About 100 cadets let year, sometimes broken into classes of about 25 each. Originally they were four weeks, zero time to Private Pilot license. They morphed into a system where solo and a total of 15 hours was obtained at home, the remainder at Flying Encampment.

I went from zero time to license in less than six weeks and I was t alone. It was somewhat intense, but manageable. For example, we didn’t fly on weekends, but sometimes flew twice a day depending on phase.